JFK-NRT - AA or JAL?

[jamesatfish]

I've booked an ACIR22 for a trip next month and I'm flying JFK-NRT on my way home. I'm currently booked with AA (in their 777) but I've noticed that JAL appear to have a very nice F suite on that sector as well.

I've flown the AA 777 before but only domestic (MIA-LAX), but have never flown with JAL at all.

Does anyone have any experience with either carrier and their F offering?

 

[tuapekastar]

I flew AA F LHR-LAX (a daytime flight) recently and the experience stood up quite well against QF F on the A380 (though that was a midnight departure, much of which I spent horizontal).

The AA seat arrangement is quite similar in layout and size to the QF (A380) one, though the screen is somewhat smaller and the controls (as you would expect) not quite as modern and sophisticated. I saw no evidence of a mattress etc. (though it was a daytime flight). The seat was comfortable.

The main meal was good enough (though I paid the price for not checking the pre-landing snack well enough - it was 'turkey sandwich' vs. 'pizza' and whatever came with the turkey sandwich was definitely not to my liking). Once they had worked out I liked red wine oops the supply did not stop (offered, not requested, apart from the first one) until I said, a long way into the flight, 'Enough thanks!" (it was a Chilean wine - pretty nice). The FAs were certainly 'experienced' and friendly enough without being 'familiar'.

Movie selection was good (I watched the entire Lord Of The Rings trilogy from their 'classics' menu shock and the Bose NC headphones were the best of all the airlines on that trip. I did manage to get horizontal for a short time and found the bed comfy enough.

Flagship Lounge at LHR was adequate but nothing to write home about - no better IMHO than a typical QP (in fact a decent QP is probably better).

Haven't flown JL F, though a J flight NRT-SIN stood up ok against other carriers' J.

In summary, I was pleasantly surpised though to be fair I have very limited international F experience to be able to compare.

 

[drron]

I have flow a few AA F sectors on their 777's including NRT-JFK.I like the product and I find the AA F seat the easiest to sleep in.IMHO I feel it is better than QF 747 F.Not flown JL F but flown NRT-JFK-NRT with them many times in J.Their hard product hasnt changed in the 6 years I have been doing this route and on the last occasion a year ago I felt the service standard had slipped-well they do have to cut back costs.I doubt though that you would ever have a bad trip on JL.

 

[NYCguy]

I doubt though that you would ever have a bad trip on JL.

I agree. I would take JL over AA, just as I would take NH over UA. Without hesitation.

 

[NM]

Given that I have 12 eVIPs in my AAdvantage account, I would likely choose AA. But without the eVIPs I would probably choose JL.

 

[dajop]

Given that I have 12 eVIPs in my AAdvantage account, I would likely choose AA. But without the eVIPs I would probably choose JL.

Would the eVIPs influence your choice if flying on an ACIR22 already?

 

[jamesatfish]

Thanks all for the input - I'm going to change my booking today and give JL a try this time. I'm keen to try something different and I'm also assuming that JL will give a more authentic Japanese experience flying to Tokyo than AA will.

As an added bonus the JL flight reduces my 6 hour NRT layover to 4 hours.

I'll report back with a trip report and let you know how it went.

 

[NM]

Would the eVIPs influence your choice if flying on an ACIR22 already?

Well, no. But since I have never flown on a ACIR22 or any other paid F ticket, I can only assume I would be flying on a D ticket at best and more likely some form of economy fare , so in that case the eVIPs would play a very significant factor in my decision.

 

[jamesatfish]

Just to follow up on this for anyone who is interested.

I decided on the strength of advice here to go with JL, but unfortunately whilst there were open F seats there were none available in the A fare bucket, so I've just arrived in NRT on AA167.

Flew on AA's 777 in 1J, and whilst it was nicer than F on their 767/757 aircraft, it really is just a long domestic F flight rather than a real international First experience.

After boarding there was the offer of a single refreshment - water, juice or 'champagne' served in cheap plastic cups. No pre-flight snacks, warm welcome from the staff or constantly refilled glasses of French bubbles as you'd expect from QF or BA.

The meal service wasn't too bad - whilst the meals were served from a cart pushed down the aisle the plates were prepared at your seat, with the salad for instance made for you with only the ingredients you requested. Major disappointment was the lack of icecream sundaes - they were listed on the menu but only fruit or cheese were actually offered as dessert options.

The in-seat entertainment is the old 8" touch screen that QF used to have in their 747s, with the clunky on-demand system that makes it very difficult to navigate through the available selections. I ended up spending most of my time watching shows on my iPad instead just to get a bigger screen. AA provides a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones which you can use with your own device as well as their IFE, but they were collected about 1 hour before the end of the flight and I was told there were a set of $2 earbud headphones in the magazine pocket that I could use for the rest of the flight.

The seat does fold flat as a bed but only a pillow and blanket are supplied - there is no quilt / turndown service as on BA or QF. The bed wasn't really very comfortable and the way that it folds flat leaves you very exposed to the rest of the cabin - certainly not a very private sleeping position.

Service was variable at best - there were a couple of reasonably friendly FAs and a couple who couldn't have been more surly if they tried.

With this trip I had a need to go through Tokyo for a meeting so ended up with an ACIR22 rather than my more usual AONE4 through the UK, but unless I have a pressing need to come back to Japan I think in the future I'll come home from the US JFK-LHR with BA and then LHR-SIN-SYD with QF and stick to those carriers with 'real' First class service.

 

[Flashback]

Just to follow up on this for anyone who is interested.

I decided on the strength of advice here to go with JL, but unfortunately whilst there were open F seats there were none available in the A fare bucket, so I've just arrived in NRT on AA167.

Flew on AA's 777 in 1J, and whilst it was nicer than F on their 767/757 aircraft, it really is just a long domestic F flight rather than a real international First experience.

After boarding there was the offer of a single refreshment - water, juice or 'champagne' served in cheap plastic cups. No pre-flight snacks, warm welcome from the staff or constantly refilled glasses of French bubbles as you'd expect from QF or BA.

The meal service wasn't too bad - whilst the meals were served from a cart pushed down the aisle the plates were prepared at your seat, with the salad for instance made for you with only the ingredients you requested. Major disappointment was the lack of icecream sundaes - they were listed on the menu but only fruit or cheese were actually offered as dessert options.

The in-seat entertainment is the old 8" touch screen that QF used to have in their 747s, with the clunky on-demand system that makes it very difficult to navigate through the available selections. I ended up spending most of my time watching shows on my iPad instead just to get a bigger screen. AA provides a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones which you can use with your own device as well as their IFE, but they were collected about 1 hour before the end of the flight and I was told there were a set of $2 earbud headphones in the magazine pocket that I could use for the rest of the flight.

The seat does fold flat as a bed but only a pillow and blanket are supplied - there is no quilt / turndown service as on BA or QF. The bed wasn't really very comfortable and the way that it folds flat leaves you very exposed to the rest of the cabin - certainly not a very private sleeping position.

Service was variable at best - there were a couple of reasonably friendly FAs and a couple who couldn't have been more surly if they tried.

With this trip I had a need to go through Tokyo for a meeting so ended up with an ACIR22 rather than my more usual AONE4 through the UK, but unless I have a pressing need to come back to Japan I think in the future I'll come home from the US JFK-LHR with BA and then LHR-SIN-SYD with QF and stick to those carriers with 'real' First class service.

Thanks for the update, it definitely pushes AA down my list of carriers that I'd want to try F in ; although I wonder how much it varies per aircraft types, e.g. is their 747 F better? IME from what I've read, 777 F on any carrier is nowhere near as good as their other F offerings e.g. 747, A380

 

[Grooba]

Thanks for the update, it definitely pushes AA down my list of carriers that I'd want to try F in ; although I wonder how much it varies per aircraft types, e.g. is their 747 F better?

AA F domestic is nothing to aspire towards, the only reason many of us will do it is for the SC, not the service/seats/IFE/etc.

I'd assume their longhaul F would be better but can't speak from experience.

 

[Flashback]

AA F domestic is nothing to aspire towards, the only reason many of us will do it is for the SC, not the service/seats/IFE/etc.

I'd assume their longhaul F would be better but can't speak from experience.

Given the flight was to NRT I'd say it's long haul

 

[NYCguy]

Thanks for the update, it definitely pushes AA down my list of carriers that I'd want to try F in ; although I wonder how much it varies per aircraft types, e.g. is their 747 F better?

AA doesn't operate any 747's, and their international 767 fleet only has J and Y.

If you're in AA international F, you're on a 777.

 

[jamesatfish]

Given the flight was to NRT I'd say it's long haul

As far as I'm concerned, AA First is of similar standard whether domestic or international. Yes, the 777 is undeniably better than the MD80 but the standard of service, food offerings and general atmosphere seem the same. In my opinion they're not anywhere near a true long haul F experience.

I haven't flown AA's transatlantic offering but I can't see how that would be any better than the NRT run.

Obviously AA is my airline of choice within the US as the only OneWorld partner, and the F status credit earn on short domestic flights is great, but when it comes to entering or leaving the US I'll be looking at the other OW partners well before AA.

 

[Grooba]

As far as I'm concerned, AA First is of similar standard whether domestic or international. Yes, the 777 is undeniably better than the MD80 but the standard of service, food offerings and general atmosphere seem the same. In my opinion they're not anywhere near a true long haul F experience.

I haven't flown AA's transatlantic offering but I can't see how that would be any better than the NRT run.

Obviously AA is my airline of choice within the US as the only OneWorld partner, and the F status credit earn on short domestic flights is great, but when it comes to entering or leaving the US I'll be looking at the other OW partners well before AA.

There you go Flashware, instead of dropping AA F down your list you should scrap it altogether.

 

[drron]

Well my F experiences are different on AA's long haul F.Food is not the greatest but a reasonable standard.Only 1 QF F sector but the food was also not the greatest and a very tough steak.
I prefer the AA 777 seat to the QF 747 seat in F.
I have been lucky with the staff on AA and have never had a problem having my champagne refilled without asking whereas on QF my glass was whisked away after 1 drink-again without asking.
Certainly the IFE on AA is substandard.
As well on all my AA 777 F sectors 1J has been the pilot rest seat-though JFK-NRT is a daylight flight but long.I havent yet done that sector in F but DFW and ORD-NRT as well as NRT-LAX and JFK.A sector JFK-LHR on the AA 777 I rate as my most enjoyable sector ever.
We are all unique in our own little ways after all.

 

[Flashback]

There you go Flashware, instead of dropping AA F down your list you should scrap it altogether.

Struck off! :shock:

 

[dajop]

I have been lucky with the staff on AA and have never had a problem having my champagne refilled without asking whereas on QF my glass was whisked away after 1 drink-again without asking.

Staff in (domestic - can't comment on intl) are in my experience are generally pretty good, and plentiful with refills (despite my bizarre aussie liking for diluting the scotch with cola). In fact the main problem with the staff can be if you have a rental car waiting and need to stay sober To be fair to QF, domestic J is usually good service wise as well (for comparison). My single QF F experience saw a 55 minute wait for the first drink to come out, barely acceptable in Y or J let alone F.

My bugbear with AA is 3+ hr flights without a meal service, but that's dom not intl. Don't care what time of day it is but I know I can get semi decent food on even Tiger or Jetstar on 3 hr flight, so I guess choose flights wisely if you want to eat

 

[Blackswan]

Well my F experiences are different on AA's long haul F.Food is not the greatest but a reasonable standard.Only 1 QF F sector but the food was also not the greatest and a very tough steak.
I prefer the AA 777 seat to the QF 747 seat in F.
I have been lucky with the staff on AA and have never had a problem having my champagne refilled without asking whereas on QF my glass was whisked away after 1 drink-again without asking.
Certainly the IFE on AA is substandard.
As well on all my AA 777 F sectors 1J has been the pilot rest seat-though JFK-NRT is a daylight flight but long.I havent yet done that sector in F but DFW and ORD-NRT as well as NRT-LAX and JFK.A sector JFK-LHR on the AA 777 I rate as my most enjoyable sector ever.
We are all unique in our own little ways after all.

Isn't 1A (and on longer flights 2A) pilot rest? I've selected 1J flying NRT-JFK a couple of days after Xmas (1A and 2A were blocked). Booked front of cabin and a window for FEBO.

I'm trying not to set my expectations of AA First too high. I've only ever flown QF Y to USA (whilst studying at Uni - so not accustomed to Singapore, Emirates etc) - but still slightly excited.

My friends are on the same flight (got a super cheap deal in Y which I missed out on )

 

[jamesatfish]

Isn't 1A (and on longer flights 2A) pilot rest? I've selected 1J flying NRT-JFK a couple of days after Xmas (1A and 2A were blocked). Booked front of cabin and a window for FEBO.

I'm trying not to set my expectations of AA First too high. I've only ever flown QF Y to USA (whilst studying at Uni - so not accustomed to Singapore, Emirates etc) - but still slightly excited.

My friends are on the same flight (got a super cheap deal in Y which I missed out on )

1A and 2A were occupied by pilots during my flight. The captain actually made the announcement at the start of the flight that there was a 4 pilot rotation on the sector and passengers shouldn't panic if they see a pilot walking around the cabin rather than flying the aircraft.

Don't be put off by my comments re AA First on that route - it's still miles better than flying Y or J, and you'll love the privacy and lie flat bed compared to your friends sitting back in Y. My review of the flight above is probably a little bit biased as the immediately preceding long haul sector (SYD-LAX) was QF First on the A380.